Thursday 13th March 2025

The Relics over 60’s Stripes made a slow start to the 2025 season in the newly extended GMWFL Over 60’s section with 10 teams now in the Division.

First up was SALCOM, with the Relics hoping for a quick start, but it was SALCOM who were on the front foot. Relics keeper Keith G, was tested on a number of occasions but he kept the Relics in contention with some good saves. Both teams were confident in possession but Relics couldn’t turn the possession into shots, which was going to turn out to be the story of the day. Full Time Relics 0 – SALCOM 0

Second game was a tough game against Ribble Valley. Relics were pushed back right from the start, with Keith G in goal kept busy diving to turn the first RV shot round the post for a corner.
It wasn’t log before RV went ahead following a break own the right hand side and a fierce low shot across goal into KG’s bottom right hand corner. 1 – 0 to RV. Relics were finding difficult to create an opening and the second goal for RV wasn’t long in coming. Again from a move down the right hand side. 2-0 to RV. The Relics failed to have any shots Final Score Relics 0 – Ribble Valley 2.

The next game against Bolton wasn’t any easier for the Relics. Although the Relics had a few good chance early in this game with Ken’s shot from a pass by Ian D saved by the Bolton keeper, and another shot from Ian D blocked out for a corner.
The Bolton goal was a bit unlucky for the Relics as Keith G made a great reaction save to a strong shot from the edge of the area. He tipped the shot with an outstretched right hand onto the top right hand corner of the goal post and crossbar, the ball rebounded back to the edge of the area where the Bolton striker made an instinctive shot into the net.
Now for me, I thought the rebound was over head height, and when the striker struck his shot I thought the ball was in the goal area. However the ref didn’t hesitate to give the goal.
On the plus side the Relics managed to create a few good chances Ian D and Steve M getting into some good positions causing problems for the Bolton defence. Steve M in particular making some good chances, but not getting an equaliser.
Final Score Relics 0 – Bolton 1

No rest in between games for the Relics as Rochdale Strollers are next. Rochdale had some good chances but Keith G was equal to them. One hit the post and went out, another hit the bar and went over. At the other end Andy Rich, and Ian D had a shot saved.
as the time rolled on the foul count was going up, and on the stroke of full time Rochdale gave away a four-foul penalty. Up stepped Andy Rich and confidently smashed the ball into the net. Some people were on the pitch, they thought it was all over, Relics had snatched it at the death, but wait …… the referee is coming over …. he disallows the goal saying that Andy had made a backward step before his shot. Groans from the Relics side line but the final score is Relics 0 – Rochdale Strollers 0

Final game is Moston Brook and the Relics at last seem to have found their shooting boots matching the Moston shot count with Andy Rich testing the keeper who knocked his shot out for a corner, a shot from Steve M saved, Mark E hitting the post and out, Mark B forcing a save from the keeper. None of this affecting the score line. Final score Relics 0 – Moston Brook 0

Relics need to work on creating chances/shots with no goals and only 3 points on the day, but this is going to be a long season with lots of twists an turns ahead. Don’t write off the Relics yet.

Well played to all the squad, Keith Gillespie (GK), Mark Thomas, Steve Murphy, Mark Evans, Ken Bond, Ian Dawson, Andy Rich, Mike Bartram. Well done to Manager Ken Buggie assisted by Keith S.

Bury Relics Over 70’s went into their first set of fixtures of the Greater Manchester Division 1 Walking Football Spring 2025 league campaign with a squad of Eddy (GK), Gerry, Tex, Ray, Bob, JoMo, Woggy and Ken Buggie. Pat was Manager with supporters Kodak Keith, Keith the Kit Man, Dave M, Peter T and Ken Bond.

First up were Corinthians with Tex and Bob starting on the bench. We started the game decently with Ray blasting a shot from distance which the keeper got his body behind.  Then Jomo picked up 2 fouls in quick succession which saw Pat call to the ref to bring Bob on after the second offence but as Bob wasn’t immediately ready the ref said that play had to restart. Eddy who was expecting a substitution wasn’t set for the free kick which was placed into the goal on the side that he wasn’t at! Fair play to Corinthians as they took advantage of the confusion to take the lead. The game then followed the age old pattern of Corinthians keeping possession and us chasing the equaliser with no chances of note by either team. Again, by trying to force the game we committed another 2 fouls to concede a penalty. It was fiercely struck but Eddy made a brilliant diving save (pictured above) to keep it to a 1-0 loss.

Next up were Tameside with Ken and Ray starting on the bench. They had the first shot which Eddy saved with his feet then we started to play some good football. Tex shot wide and then JoMo had a good shot on the turn after a 6 pass move. Although we had good possession, Tameside were always dangerous on the break and a good Eddy diving save low to his right was needed to keep it all square. We kept pressing, with Gerry having a shot blocked for a corner and then at the death JoMo made a great interception, turned and shot narrowly past the post. A 0-0 draw in which we had the majority of the play but didn’t test the keeper with our shots although they made Eddy work hard twice from a lot less of the ball.

Third up were Rochdale with Bob and Gerry starting on the bench. We were on fire from the off with Woggy and JoMo (twice) peppering the keeper with good shots. Then Tex hit a hard daisy cutter in from the right which squirmed under the keeper’s body and crossed the line to take the lead. Woggy and JoMo kept the shooting pressure up as we stroked the ball around. Eventually our nice interplay was rewarded when Tex found JoMo at the right edge of the box, he squared it right across to the other side where Ken was waiting to stroke it in. A deserved 2-0 win.

Our final match versus newly promoted Winstanley saw Tex and Woggy on the bench. We gave them a penalty almost straight away when we ran across our box. It was well taken and we went 1-0 down. We camped in their half for the remainder of the match but their centre back marshalled them superbly and despite great efforts from Ray, Ken twice and JoMo we couldn’t get past their keeper either. An unfortunate loss but the first goal is vital in walking football matches and you cannot afford to give them away.

Overall, a very mixed day of results which every team suffered. We are equal bottom on 4 points with the unbeaten Tameside but only 2 points behind leaders Winstanley with Rochdale and Corinthians both on 5 points. Literally anything is possible in this league. 

Pat commented afterwards “It was a day of improvement. First game disaster, second better, third excellent. The last game lost by a penalty and the opposition managed the game with some interesting refereeing decisions. Edd again the penalty specialist. Well done everyone.”

Bury Relics Over 60 Whites entered the Greater Manchester Division 1 Walking Football League after reorganisation for the 2025 season. The members of the squad selected for Matchday 1 were Eddy (GK), Kev Amos, Kev Bates, Ian McCann, Ian McKinnon, Graham and Dave Gaskell with Keith Swain in attendance in case of injury/illness. Pat was Manager, Ken was Assistant Manager with Andy and Iain D supporting on a lovely early March day. 

First up were Fleetwood with Ian McKinnon starting on the bench. We began well with Dave shooting just over the bar, but the Flyers have a dangerous front man who can hold it up and their midfield pile forward for his lay offs. The first move like this saw a brilliant diving save from Eddy but the second saw him drag it back to a free man who fired it past Eddy. As often happens they protected their lead and we pushed forward. We had 5 good shots, 2 from Ian McCann and 3 from Dave which their keeper either saved well or flew past the post but we just couldn’t get one in the back of the net. A 1-0 loss when a draw was merited.

Second match up for Relics was against Wakefield. Pat as manager had a difficult job of managing players not 100% fit for various reasons, a job that would get more difficult as the games progressed. Beautiful sunny morning but the sun was high enough in the sky to not cause too many issues. There was a long unexplained delay before this match, Kev Bates ( nursing an injured leg) was replaced by Ian McKinnon as part of Pat’s plan, Ian himself wasn’t fully fit due to back problems. Both teams created chances that tested the keepers at least three or four times each, however both Edd and the other keeper were up to the task making great saves. Man of match to Kevin Amos for great defensive performance. Fairly decent end to end game by both teams. Bury 0 Wakefield 0

Third match against Blackpool things did not go well. Kev Bates was back on replacing Ian McKinnon, Bury pressed quite high in this match but when the possession was lost Blackpool passed the ball quite easily up to their frontman several times either directly or via a midfield pass. Blackpool scored via one of their midfielders who threaded it nicely through quite a few bodies and took Edd by surprise. Kev Bates asked to come off as his knee was restricting his movement too much and Ian took his place, Bury seemed to get back into the game and were pressing well but then got hit twice in quick succession to end the game , (Ian McCann withdrew part way through the game due to breathing difficulties and was replaced by Keith Swain). Bury 0 Blackpool 3

Fourth game against Manchester Old Boys ( basically Kingsmaid rebranded except they still have Kingsmaid on their shirts🤷‍♂️). Ian McCann recovered and decided to play and Kev Bates stayed off as his knee was too sore, this was a pretty good match, lots of chances for Bury , Ian McKinnon had three cracking shots on target but then injury struck again, this time striker Dave Gaskill got trodden on quite badly and had to be replaced by Keith Swain, Keith did a great job keeping the Old Boys at bay. A wayward pass however by Graham saw their striker left unopposed at one point right in front of goal dead centre , Edd did a fantastic save from a point blank range shot. ( Graham said later he thought Edd was looking bored and wanted to test his reflexes 😂). Man of match to Kevin Amos again for a stalwart defensive performance. Bury 0 Manchester Old Boys 0

Now the final match and Pat’s managerial skills really put to the test. Kev Amos had to leave early, Dave Gaskill couldn’t play any further part due to injury so Pat was forced to ask Kev Bates to play. Being injured and restricted in movement it was decided to shove him up front as that would be least tasking physically. This was a great game. Winstanley are a good attacking team and Bury found themselves pinned back for large chunks of this game.
Winstanley had a very tricky striker complete with step-overs a lá Ronaldo albeit at less than half the speed, he tricked his way through to score. Bury were up against it again almost immediately and some frantic defending led to a DOGSO , Graham got blue carded and Winstanley converted the penalty. So now Bury are down to five players for the next four minutes, then the gods of football intervened. The thing is that when a team presses high like Winstanley did there is lots and lots of lovely space behind them and Ian McKinnon recognised this. There was a brief moment when he got the ball in his own half when everyone seemed to think there was an infringement of some kind everyone that is except Ian and the referee, Ian pointed out whilst moving the ball upfield “ the whistle hasn’t been blown “. Even without the temporary pause there’s no way Winstanley could get back to defend without running hell for leather, however, Ian still had to get past a midfielder on the half way line ,which he skilfully did like a knife through butter, advancing into their half he made a lovely weighted and precise pass to Kev who was waiting near the area with a defender on his shoulder, Kev controlled the ball turned and shot and buried it in the bottom right much to the surprise of… well probably everyone watching …including himself.
So it’s now 2 – 1 and Bury are smelling blood, but at this point Winstanley rally and score again. 3-1 but it’s not over, Graham returns from the sin bin and Bury forage forward… nothing to lose, Ian McCann finds a bit of space and rockets a shot in which bounces back off the keeper and into the path of Ian McKinnon who moves in for the kill but right on the edge of the area he is thwarted by a dastardly foul just as he was aiming his kick… there was blood and gore and body parts everywhere, or at least this is the impression that Ian was trying to make when he theatrically collapsed to the floor, don’t get me wrong… it was a nasty foul but let’s just say Ian wanted to make sure the referee agreed 😊. So now it’s penalty time and Ian McCann despatched it convincingly. 3-2 and now Winstanley are down to five men. Now for me there’s still a bit of controversy to come which got overlooked, he was sin binned for 4minutes like Graham but there was only about 2 minutes left, or less , which unfortunately didn’t prove long enough to get the equaliser . Should the match have continued until the sin bin time was used up to make it a fair form of punishment? 🤷‍♂️
Technically all of Bury’s players deserved a man of the match in this one as it was a real battle but I’m going to give it jointly to Ian McKinnon for his match changing move and to Kevin Amos … yes I know he wasn’t playing but everyone seemed to play with such tenacity in defence that it was as if he was there. A loss but a great battle. Bury 2 Winstanley 3

I’d also like to point out that over the course of all the games there were multiple shots on target and one or two not far off coming from five different players which I think is a good sign as we all know how hard it is to score in these games. Edd made many great saves and despite the results I think we did well against some tough opponents.

Bury Relics Over 65’s concluded their Greater Manchester Division 1 Walking Football Autumn league campaign in match week 4 which had been postponed pre-Xmas due to bad weather. A squad of 8 were selected of Gaz (GK), Kevin, Pete Shev, Alan, Dave Luk, Ian McCann, Paul and Graham. Pat was Manager and numerous supporters were in attendance on a dry day which saw us begin handily placed second in the league with Wakefield running away at the top. 

First up were Preston with Pete and Paul starting on the bench. We conceded almost immediately when a low shot sneaked inside the post. We then piled forward with 3 good shots, the last of which hit the post after Ian and Dave played some great football to set up Graham. Preston did have a fantastic chance when their centre forward was left all alone as we pushed up but, fortunately he had so much time and space that he was left in two minds and couldn’t convert. Normal service resumed with shots from Alan, Dave, Ian and even Kevin but the impressive Preston keeper was in his usual good form. Just before the end our 95% possession was eventually rewarded when Preston took a free kick and waywardly passed it to Ian who played it straight into an unmarked Graham who tucked it away. An unlucky 1-1 draw.

Next up were Wakefield with Kevin and Alan starting on the bench. We started well with Ian neatly laying off for Dave to hit a good shot. Wakefield though are filled with quality and quickly forced Gaz into a good save and then their experienced centre forward scored a brilliant goal which gave Gaz no chance. We could have crumbled but we fought back superbly and pressed them hard. Firstly, Paul hit a fierce shot which their keeper palmed away for a corner (which he sportingly confirmed to the ref), then Ian and Paul again went close before Graham after a brilliant piece of individual skill left himself 1-2-1 with the keeper but his well-placed shot was saved at full stretch. We searched for the equaliser right up to the final whistle but just couldn’t find it. An unlucky 1-0 defeat.

At the conclusion of this game the players gathered at the bottom fence and shortly afterwards Paul suffered a medical incident. Team manager Pat commented afterwards, “As people will have seen Paul collapsed at the side of the pitch after our second game, I would like to say a massive thankyou to Graham, Kevin, Ian and Shev who reacted so fast and called for assistance. In these moments time is vital and their reaction and that of the Sports Village staff and then the emergency services will have contributed to him actually being alive. I personally would like to thank the players for continuing to play the next two games. I could see it affected all our players and credit to them. Once more thankyou everyone on behalf of Paul for their thoughts and wishes on his speedy recovery”. 

Paul (No. 10 pictured above) is presently awaiting the next step towards his full recovery.

As Pat stated the players unanimously agreed to carry on as they felt it would be unfair on all the other teams in the league to take the offer of a 0-0 draw in their two remaining games. The fixtures were fulfilled but it was extremely difficult for the players to focus and although they tried admirably it resulted in 2-0 and 1-0 losses to Corinthians and Bolton respectively. 

The results on the day obviously meant that we did not claim the runners up spot but we did walk away with a far greater prize!

31st Jan 2025
The Presentation night covering the 2024 seasons was held at Radcliffe FC on 31st January 2025.
As always, I never cease to be amazed how talented the Relics players are, not just on the pitch, but playing musical instruments. Tonight was no exception. Opening act Kev Bates with his acoustic guitar, including a couple of his own compositions, one stand out song in particular about enjoying football with his son.
Closing Act, No Running, featuring Doctor John on drums, Ken Bond, Jed Clunby on Guitars, and Dave Morris on vocals, with some classics that really pleased the crowd.

In between of we had the wonderful buffet and the actual presentations.

Congratulations to all the winners on the night and to all the teams for two fantastic 2024 seasons.

A Summary of 2024 from President Keiran Tilley

Spring 2024 Season.
It all started with a disappointing relegation from division one for our 60’s Whites team who despite playing pretty well in a lot of games could not fight off the relegation spot in a very tough division
But great news for our 60’s Stripes team who went all the spring season undefeated and clinched their title in the very last game against Ribble Valley (no mean feat ).
Also, the over 65’s won their division, while the 70’s finished runners up in their divisions which is excellent news.

Autumn 2024 Season.
In the Autumn season the promoted over 60’s Stripes team started slowly to consolidate their promotion but finished strongly playing as well as ever and look good for next season.
The 60’s Whites finished 4th in another tough season
Great news for our 70’s team who once again were champions of their division beating Manchester Corinthians to the title.
This was no mean feat after losing several key players to illness and surgery during this year.
Our over 65’s were in 2nd place going into the last set of games but after losing Paul Webster to a suspected cardiac arrest midway through, everything went wrong understandably ,and they finished 4th.
I am pleased to report that Paul was very well looked after by the people at Heywood until the  ambulance arrived and took him to hospital. Hopefully Paul will make a full and speedy recovery and be back with us soon.

GMWFL Martin Dawson Trophy
In September Bury Relics won the Martin Dawson Trophy for the first time ever after some great performances .

Individual Achievements.
Tex O’Rourke picked up his latest England caps against ROI and Malta but sadly has had to resign due to illness. On a brighter note Tex is recovering nicely and currently back in training with the Relics, great news.
Keith Bibby has also continued his England Parkinson’s success with a recent trip to Tampa where England won the Copa Parkinson’s against international competition, brilliant news Keith.
John Herbert is a true Bury Relic member. Despite not being old enough to play in the GMWFL games at Heywood he works tirelessly very hard for the Relics and the Bury community in other ways.
John is responsible for running Community Walking Football sessions at Castle Leisure Centre on both Tuesdays and Thursdays giving many people the chance to get exercise and meet up on a social side with like-minded people.
He has also been able to gain funding for this for the Relics, and individual Relics players, from Bury Council and the charity VCFA.
Excellent work John, please keep it going.

Looking forward Bury Relics will continue with the current 4 teams but will also be entering an over 75’s side in the new league games at Heywood starting hopefully in March 2025.

Good Luck Everyone lets have another great year with the Relics. UTR.

Keiran Tilley

President Bury Relics Walking Football.

Bury Relics Over 60 Stripes concluded their Greater Manchester Division 3 Walking Football Autumn league campaign in match week 4. A squad of 8 were selected of Eddy (GK), Ken Bo, Steve M, Mark T, Steve H, Iain, Mark E and Andy. Ken Bug was Manager and numerous supporters, including Tony G, Dave M, Keith B, Gaz, Kev, Pat, Keiran and Frank, were in attendance on a dry and, surprisingly, mild day which saw us begin bottom of the league, 1 point from safety. 

First up were Champions elect, Burnley with Andy and Steve H starting on the bench. We started really well, reaping the positive benefits of the pre-session warm up led by the manager and Pat. We were passing neatly from the off and good interplay between the midfield trio of Steve M, Iain and Mark E created an opportunity for centre forward Ken to blast past the post. The Clarets then forced a diving save from Eddy down to his right which showed they are always dangerous on the break but centre back Mark T stuck like glue to their striker for the rest of the match. We were having our best game against a really tough team, keeping the ball well and setting Iain up to have strikes on goal from midfield, the second of which had their keeper diving low to his right to push it round the post. Once we entered the final minute the cries went up of “Take the point!”, “See it out!” and “Keep the ball!” from the sidelines which immediately led to a slip up on our part leaving their nippy playmaker bearing down on Eddy. Our big keeper made himself even bigger to block the shot and preserve the point. A confidence building 0-0 draw.

Next up were Bolton with Ken and Iain starting on the bench. We started where we left off from in the previous match and forced an early corner. The tone was set when Andy demanded the ball, after his good movement found space, and got off a smart shot which sent the keeper low to his left to make an excellent save. The Whites are a very good team in possession and like to work the ball around until they find a man in space to take a shot: and they were next to threaten in this fashion. We replied by piling forward and pinning them back with great passing and shooting on sight. Our confidence was rising and players were calling for the ball, walking the ball forward into open space and we were moving the ball around far quicker than before., 2 shots came from both Steve H and then Steve M driving forward, then Andy and Mark E combined well to set up Mark T which was followed by a great direct move as Eddy threw it up to Andy who laid it off to Steve H who shot just past the post. After winning a free kick, Mark E knocked it in to Andy’s feet who held it up then played Steve M in for a shot which was deflected just past the post. This period of domination concluded with another Mark T shot flashing wide. You can’t keep a good team down forever and Bolton came back fighting with a sustained period of pressure themselves which culminated in a fantastic save from Eddy diving low to his left making a 2 handed catch of a firm shot heading for the bottom corner. We had a couple of breakouts with a great turn and shot from Mark E and a Mark T shot over the bar but Bolton kept pressing and a late shot from them broke Eddy’s little finger to take the shine off an excellent and entertaining 0-0 draw.

Third up were Preston with Mark T and Ken starting on the bench. This was now a virtual Cup Final for relegation with both teams stranded at the bottom of the table equal on points after our 2 draws and their loss and a draw in the first 2 fixtures. Preston came out swinging and had 3 attempts before we got in their half. One went past the post and Eddy made 2 great saves, the second of which came after a deflection. They had us on the ropes, looking like cats on a hot tin roof when we had the ball and the Relics support became even more fearful when Steve M had to limp off with a serious knee injury to be replaced by the long striding Ken but this enforced break in the game brought a change in momentum. Immediately we started coming into the game more and after a superb lay off by Andy, Iain had a one on one with the keeper which he just failed to convert. Now it was Preston’s turn to look nervy in such a high stakes game and a misplaced pass in their own half was seized upon by Andy on the right hand side. He half turned quickly and thundered forward like a raging Tyranosaurus Rex in slow motion, approaching the edge of the D he shaped to shoot but at the last second dragged the ball across the box, leaving the Keeper prostate, and drawing gasps of admiration from the Relics faithful. Moving up on the left was an unmarked Ken who kept ice cool by approaching the D slowly, letting the pass fully exit the box before calmly stroking it along the floor into the middle of an empty net. A game changer moment as we could now keep the ball and probe and they had to double chase the game due to the new As It Stands league table. We saw the game out confidently and indeed could have added to the scoreline when Andy was 1 on 1 after another defensive slip but their goalie made a wonder save after Andy faked again and put him on the floor only to see his lofted shot clawed away. A season defining 1-0 win.

Our final match versus Moston Brook saw Steve M (injured) and Mark E on the bench with us needing a draw to absolutely guarantee safety. The game started evenly with Mark T enjoying his chance of a walk out in midfield having a great forward push finishing with a rasping shot. The Brook replied with a shot which rattled the post and both teams settled into a cagey, possession based match. Then a quite brilliant goal lit up the proceedings: the ball was played up to Andy who held it up well, Iain strode past him on the right and Andy threaded a lovely ball through to him, Iain controlled it first time off the ground, half turning inside at the same time to leave his marker for dead. He moved slightly forward then hit a fierce daisy cutter across the keeper which went in off the inside base of the far post. At 1-0 up we now knew exactly what we had to do – sit in and keep it tight. Moston threw themselves at our defensive wall, expertly marshalled by Steve H, and forced Eddy into numerous saves which he had to palm out as he couldn’t grip the ball with his broken finger. We held out to record a 1-0 win, just about deserved due to the sublimeness of the goal.

Our best day of the season by far, in every aspect with many players having the games of their lives, gaining 8 points which eclipsed the combined 6 from the first 3 matchdays plus our first 2 wins. Once all the scores were in we finished in 4^th place, 6 points above Preston and 2 points behind Bolton. The aim of this campaign was survival – so job done. If the squad can continue playing like this then they have a lot to look forward to.

Bury Relics Over 60 Stripes continued their Greater Manchester Division 3 Walking Football Autumn league campaign in match week 3. A maximum squad of 9 were selected of Eddy (GK), Ken, Mike, Steve M, Mark T, Steve H, Iain, Mark E and Andy. Pat was Manager and numerous supporters were in attendance on a dry but cold day which saw us begin bottom of the league, 1 point from safety. 

First up were table toppers Burnley with Ken, Mark E and Steve M starting on the bench. Both sides started well with us threatening first when Andy hit a good shot with the outside of his foot after a nice pass from Iain. The Clarets then had a shot from a free kick deflected out for a corner. We were having our best game so far against this opposition when we shot ourselves in the foot: from our own free kick just inside their half we passed the ball backwards to our last man who was closed down and robbed of the ball by their very dangerous frontman. Steve H in trying to make amends for losing possession, chased him back, slid in from behind and toepoked the ball back to Eddy. 4 offences in one go was impressive on the offending scale but unfortunately, resulted in Steve receiving a blue card and a penalty awarded for the DOGSO part. The spotkick was blasted into the top left corner past Eddy and we were facing 4 minutes of man down. Our boys dug in and played their best football of the season to not only hold out but even get a shot off by Iain and even more crucially gain 3 fouls. Just before the 4 minutes were up Eddy pulled off a miraculous save after a period of prolonged pressure and when Steve re-entered the fray he was welcomed back by the Relics support like a returning gladiator. Eddy’s save and equal sides suddenly spooked the league leaders into shooting themselves in the foot by committing a totally unnecessary fourth foul to hand us a penalty on a plate. Under great pressure due to the points situation and how late it was in the game, Andy very admirably hammered it home (featured photo) to the delight of our support and subs. A creditable 1-1 draw.

Next up were Bolton with Steve H, Mike and Iain starting on the bench. They had the better possession at the start, missing a good chance by shooting straight at Eddy before we came back strongly with a firmly hit Mark T shot sliding past the post after a clever lay off by Andy and Mark E having a shot saved by the keeper. Bolton started to knock it around and a smart move left a player unmarked and he had the time and space to pass it into the net past a stranded Eddy. As they were now 1-0 up they looked to hold onto the lead by keeping the ball and pressing us close when we had it. They were doing a great job and the clock was ticking down when we got a massive stroke of luck after we under hit a pass back to Eddy. Their forward licked his lips and moved forward to stroke it in to make it 2-0, BUT NO, the ref adjudged his movement as too fast and it was a foul, their 4^th, against him. The ball was marched up to the penalty spot where Andy again handled the pressure and stroked it into the right hand side to equalize after the craziest turnaround since Jean van de Velde took his shoes and socks off and Paul Lawrie won the ’99 Open. A very fortunate 1-1 draw.

Third up were fellow strugglers Preston with Andy, Mark T and Ken starting on the bench. The dogfight continued between these 2 sides for the relegation spot with both teams lying at the bottom of the table only separated by 1 point at the beginning of the day in their favour. This performance was a marked improvement on our 2 previous outings against them which had been negative deadlocks. We dominated possession throughout and Eddy didn’t have a save to make. By contrast we rained shots down from our front 3 of Iain, Mark E and Mike, with the best chance falling to Mike with a 1 on 1 on the goalie but an excellent save kept us at bay. A very unfortunate 0-0 draw.

Our final match versus Moston Brook, who are chasing the top spot, saw Steve H, Iain and Mark E on the bench and we had run out of steam a little bit after putting so much into the first 3 games. They started well, played good football from start to finish and punished our lack of defensive cover twice, both good shots leaving Eddy no chance. A deserved 2-0 loss.

Our best day so far, in both playing levels and results, gaining 3 points but Preston also managed 3 draws on the day so we still sit bottom of the table 1 point behind them. The last matchday is now set for a fantastic finish with both teams battling for survival.